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Radon Levels in Barron County, Wisconsin

EPA puts Barron County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 34.7% of its 199 reported radon tests (2023) were at or above 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.

Data checked By Radon411Methodology

How to test this homeFind a certified tester

  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    34.7%

    1.0 pts below WI

    Barron
    34.7%
    Wisconsin
    35.7%

    199 tests, 2023

  • Median result

    2.5pCi/L

    Below action level

    Barron
    2.5 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2023

  • Tests reported

    199

    31st of 69 by tests

    Barron
    199
    Dane
    2,887

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Wisconsin

    43 of 69

    Middle half

    Barron
    34.7%
    Langlade
    65.8%

    By share, of 69 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Barron County

Starts at Barron County's median, 2.5 pCi/L

2.5pCi/L

EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.

EPA’s reading of 2.5 pCi/L

Between 2 and 4 pCi/L

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 4 and aboveEPA says fix it

This result is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Barron County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Barron County, At a glance

Barron County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Barron County is a county: EPA's forecast for it as a whole is an average indoor of 2 to 4 pCi/L (75 to 150 Bq/m³). It describes no single address, and homes above EPA's are found in every zone, this one included.

USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 100% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Barron County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Barron County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Barron County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201443.8%
201546.8%
201638.9%
201745.9%
201952.3%
202035.4%
202134.1%
202247.7%
202334.7%

2023: 34.7%. Across these years the share ran from 34.1% to 52.3%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 199 tests reported to CDC for Barron County over 2023, many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not this house.

Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).

How to read these figures

Barron County, Compared

Barron County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

In Barron County, about 3 in 10 reported tests in 2023 (69 of 199) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 33.4%, the gap is 1.3 points higher. Across 72 Wisconsin counties pooled together, 35.7% of tests reached that level, so Barron County runs 1.0 points below its state.

Of 8 neighbours with a figure, 6 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L and 2 a smaller one; the spread is 23.1% (Burnett County) to 44.9% (Washburn County). By share, Barron County is 43rd of 69 Wisconsin counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.

Year by year, 2014 opened at 43.8% and 2023 closed at 34.7% (down 9.1 points), with 2019 the high at 52.3%. Half the tests came in under 2.5 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 19.5 pCi/L. Below the action level, 83 tests (41.7%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 41.4% statewide, and 47 tests (23.6%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.0% statewide.

Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 34.7% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential. CDC also counts 5 tests taken after mitigation in Barron County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.

The busiest year on file was 2023, with 199 tests reported; the quietest, 2017, had 61.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Barron County against Wisconsin2014 to 2023, years with 30 or more tests: Barron County 43.8% to 34.7%, the state's pooled share 35.7% in 2023.
Barron CountyWisconsin, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Barron County against Wisconsin: data table
YearTestsBarron County, at or above 4 pCi/LWisconsin, pooled
20149643.8%51.1%
201512446.8%51.6%
20169538.9%45.2%
20176145.9%44.8%
20198652.3%42.9%
20208235.4%27.0%
20218534.1%39.9%
20228647.7%42.9%
202319934.7%35.7%
Barron County against Wisconsin, the United States and nearby counties, 2023
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Barron County
Barron County19934.7%2.5 pCi/LThis county
Wisconsin, pooled72 counties, pooled20,87935.7%Not pooled+1.0 points
United States, pooled642 counties, pooled128,74033.4%Not pooled−1.3 points
Langlade Countyhighest in the state22565.8%6.0 pCi/L+31.1 points
Bayfield Countylowest in the state355.7%1.5 pCi/L−29.0 points
Washburn County, WIborders it4944.9%3.1 pCi/L+10.2 points
Sawyer County, WIborders it4742.6%3.2 pCi/L+7.9 points
Rusk County, WIborders it5738.6%3.2 pCi/L+3.9 points
St. Croix County, WIborders it34837.4%3.0 pCi/L+2.7 points
Dunn County, WIborders it17137.4%2.9 pCi/L+2.7 points
Chippewa County, WIborders it31135.7%2.5 pCi/L+1.0 points
Polk County, WIborders it12233.6%2.8 pCi/L−1.1 points
Burnett County, WIborders it5223.1%1.6 pCi/L−11.6 points
Where Barron County's reported results fell, 2023, beside Wisconsin and the United States
ResultBarron County testsBarron County shareWisconsin shareU.S. shareAgainst Wisconsin
Under 2 pCi/L8341.7%41.4%41.4%+0.3 points
2 to 4 pCi/L4723.6%23.0%25.2%+0.6 points
4 pCi/L and above6934.7%35.7%33.4%−1.0 points
Barron County ranked among the 69 Wisconsin counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2023
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Racine County38 of 6944537.3%2.7 pCi/L
Price County39 of 696036.7%2.8 pCi/L
Chippewa County40 of 6931135.7%2.5 pCi/L
Portage County41 of 6933435.6%3.0 pCi/L
Dane County42 of 692,88734.9%2.5 pCi/L
Barron County43 of 6919934.7%2.5 pCi/L
Green County44 of 6923533.6%2.1 pCi/L
Polk County45 of 6912233.6%2.8 pCi/L
Richland County46 of 694833.3%2.9 pCi/L
Eau Claire County47 of 6947432.7%2.8 pCi/L
La Crosse County48 of 6977131.4%2.7 pCi/L
Barron County radon tests by year, against Wisconsin's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestWisconsin, pooledChange from the row before
202319934.7%2.5 pCi/L19.5 pCi/L35.7%−13.0 points
20228647.7%3.5 pCi/L25.7 pCi/L42.9%+13.6 points
20218534.1%2.8 pCi/L30.2 pCi/L39.9%−1.3 points
20208235.4%3.0 pCi/L122.9 pCi/L27.0%−16.9 points
20198652.3%4.0 pCi/L28.8 pCi/L42.9%+6.4 points
20176145.9%3.8 pCi/L28.6 pCi/L44.8%+7.0 points
20169538.9%3.2 pCi/L11.4 pCi/L45.2%−7.9 points
201512446.8%3.8 pCi/L45.8 pCi/L51.6%+3.0 points
20149643.8%3.3 pCi/L47.0 pCi/L51.1%First on file

Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.

Barron County, Geology

The ground under Barron County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Barron County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. The map puts 73.4% of Barron County in the area it calls Central Plain/Northern Highland and 17.7% in Superior Lobe, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives both a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Barron County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Central Plain/Northern HighlandPre-Late Wisconsinan glacial deposits derived from sandstone and carbonate rocks.Moderate1073.4%
Superior LobeGlacial deposits derived from sandstone and volcanic rocks.Moderate1017.7%
Chippewa, Wisconsin Valley, and Langlade sublobes of the Superior LobeGranite, granite-derived glacial deposits, and mafic volcanic rocks.Moderate108.9%

Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.

Barron County beside the ground around it

Across Wisconsin 34.8% of the land is rated high; none of Barron County's is. Of the 8 counties that border it, 4 have more high-potential ground, St. Croix County the most at 99.7%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Barron County, the 8 counties bordering it and Wisconsin
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Barron CountyZone 2None100%None
Washburn CountyZone 2None100%None
Polk CountyZone 2None86.6%13.4%
Dunn CountyZone 2None90.3%9.7%
Rusk CountyZone 2None100%None
Chippewa CountyZone 2None100%None
Burnett CountyZone 2None99.7%0.3%
St. Croix CountyZone 1None0.3%99.7%
Sawyer CountyZone 2None100%None
Wisconsin72 counties, pooled by land areaVaries1.4%63.5%34.8%

The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.

Local help

Barron County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Barron County

What Wisconsin's program says
Phone
1-888-569-7236
Email
DHSRadon@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Licensing of radon professionals
The State of Wisconsin does not require contractors performing radon measurement or mitigation work to be state licensed or nationally certified.

What it means

Barron County, Questions

Questions about radon in Barron County

Are radon levels high in Barron County?

In 2023, 34.7% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Barron County, Wisconsin were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.5 pCi/L. Of 69 Wisconsin counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 42 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 35.7%.

Which counties border Barron County?

Barron County borders 8 counties: Washburn County, Polk County, Dunn County, Rusk County, Chippewa County, Burnett County, St. Croix County and Sawyer County.

Products

Barron County, Products

Testing a home in Barron County

In Barron County, 34.7% of 199 tests reported to CDC in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L, against 35.7% pooled across Wisconsin. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Barron County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Barron County homes, compared

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Barron County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Barron County

Calculated by Radon411

Barron County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Barron County

About 46,484 people live in Barron County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 235 fewer than in 2020 (−0.5%). That works out to 54 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Rice Lake, the largest, has 8,882 residents, 19.1% of the total. CDC's 199 reported tests for 2023 work out to 4.3 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Wisconsin's 3.5.

From Rice Lake to Haugen, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Barron County's.

The cities and towns in Barron County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Rice Lake8,882−2.0%19.1%
Barron3,634−2.4%7.8%
Cumberland2,282+0.5%4.9%
Chetek2,152−1.3%4.6%
Cameron1,834−1.7%3.9%
Turtle Lakeextends beyond Barron County1,023−1.7%Counted whole
Almena731+3.1%1.6%
New Auburnextends beyond Barron County574+1.2%Counted whole
Prairie Farm465−5.7%1.0%
Dallas351−3.0%0.8%
Haugen249−3.1%0.5%

11 incorporated places, as listed in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place reference files. Residents: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025). A place that extends beyond Barron County is counted whole, so it has no share.

Barron County, Homes

Homes in Barron County

Barron County is a place of houses on their own lots: 79% of its 23,966 homes are detached single-family houses, against 66% across Wisconsin. Half of its homes were built before 1976, close to Wisconsin's 1975: 32% date from before 1960 and 18% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 77% of the occupied homes (Wisconsin: 68%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Barron County, Wisconsin, 2019 to 2023
HomesBarron CountyWisconsin
Housing units23,9662,750,750
Detached houses79%66%
In buildings of 5 or more7%17%
Mobile homes5%3%
Built before 196032%34%
Built since 200018%20%
Middle year built19761975
Owner-occupied77%68%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.